Apologies, this is superficially another election one. But also about friendships and what politics can do to people.
I have a very good friend, let's call her Friend A, who I see a lot. Friend A is a very active Labour party member and campaigner. On the left flank of the party and a very committed Corbynite. I hugely respect her commitment and principle, although I'm not convinced by a fair chunk of what she believes.
I am also a Labour voter and member (and will vote for them tomorrow) but I'm much closer to the centre wing of the party/borderline Blairite (though I have issues with them too). I essentially believe in some but not all of the Corbyn manifesto, am concerned by the implementation of some and particularly by the apparent hostility to almost any kind of business, the antisemitism issue and what I see as the Momentum tendency towards authoritarianism. Notwithstanding all this I'm very clear that I see them as by far the best option in this election. I have never and will never vote Tory.
I have had had several discussions with Friend A about this, more or less good natured although sometimes heated. She makes it clear she disagrees with me but has never led me to believe she thinks less of me as a result.
So it got back to me recently that two other friends in our social circle, Friend B and Friend C, had met recently for dinner. Friend B is an old friend who I see pretty rarely, but who is in pretty regular contact with Friend A. Friend B had told Friend C, who is also an old friend who I see a lot, that I was "incredibly right wing".
Friend B and I have met a handful of times in the past five years and I have not had a discussion about politics with them in the past decade, if ever. The only way Friend B can have formed this opinion of me is through information or opinions fed to them by Friend A.
So obviously there's a lot of variables here. 1) It depends how you define "incredibly right wing". There's a sliding scale here and maybe to a dyed in the wool Corbynite anyone who questions any of his policies fits that definition. But "incredibly right wing" to me carries overtones of fascism, racism, authoritarianism which I absolutely disavow and I really struggle to see how I could display those characteristics even to a very left wing person. 2) It's possible that Friend B came to this conclusion on their own based on their own interpretation of what Friend A said.
I'm a committed social democrat who is vocal about their commitment to a range of progressive social positions. I'm in favour of high taxation where necessary, a believer in support for the most vulnerable in society and want to protect the NHS. I was an avowed Remainer although I'm increasingly aware that the issue is so divisive that I'm prepared to accept a managed Leave in the interests of honouring the referendum. I desperately want a change in government.
Everyone's entitled to their political views, but I feel hurt and alienated that people I trust have felt able to portray me in a light like this. And scared, frankly, of how they will perceive me if they win.
Am I over-reacting? Or are they being nasty and hysterical? And perhaps more importantly, has this election corroded people's faith in politics so much that it's actually destroying friendships?